About

We are five economics doctoral students at George Mason University who began the doctoral program in 2011, are all at or approaching candidacy, and all have a strong passion for economics and discussing ideas. While each of us researches, teaches, and writes about different subject areas, we all believe that economics is pervasive and that using the tools of economics can gain insight into nearly all aspects of human society. We also all explore issues from a perspective that emphasizes the nature of markets as emergent discovery processes, the role that incentives play in politics, and the importance of social institutions in determining prosperity, all of which we feel can be neglected sometimes by our fellow economists, scholars, and pundits. Otherwise, we have no specific agenda. All of the posts on here are not affiliated with or endorsed by any institution, and all opinions contained are the individual author’s own.

Santiago Gangotena is a Ph.D candidate in his fourth year at George Mason University. He is interested in complex adaptive systems and is currently working on applying this framework using agent-based models to macroeconomic coordination. His other interests include monetary policy, economic development, Austrian economics, agent-based computational economics (ACE), and econophysics. Email him at sgangote at gmu dot edu.

Mark Lutter is writing his dissertation on proprietary cities at for his Ph.D. in economics from George Mason. His other interests include economic development, institutions, and economic history. He is helping to plan a ZEDE. He splits his blogging duties between Mitrailleuse.net. Follow him @MarkLutter or email him at MHLutter at gmail dot com

Randall McElroy is a fourth year Ph.D. student at Mason. He is interested in Austrian political economy, public choice theory, and in particular the gray area between them. He is also interested in law & economics and economic development. Email him at rmcelro2 at gmu dot edu.

Ryan Safner has a Ph.D in economics from George Mason University. He researches and writes mostly about ideas and intellectual property, but also has interests in the political economy of public goods and economic development. See his intro post, and his professional website. Email him at rsafner@gmu.edu.

Vlad Tarko is a Ph.D. candidate in his fourth year at Mason. His research covers two main areas: the variety and dynamics of capitalist and quasi-capitalist systems; and the political economy and institutional theory of polycentric governance. See his website for more detail on his publications.